Frosty Feet
by BlackPensils
Summary: [Female!Marco] Marko didn't ask for any help, yet Newgate was determined to give it anyway. Why he would help some random kid he'd just met on the streets was beyond her though.
1. Meeting Pops

It was always cold now, both night and day. She could feel the frost under her bare feet as she walked along the street doing her best to appear invisible with mixed results. It was hard to blend in with the blonde dirty mess she called her hair, which made it hard for her to stay out of sight. It never would do what she wanted it to do. Mongrel also did little to appear inconspicuous. He stood out with his massive amounts of fur and gigantic size and constant loud barking. He was running up ahead, tail wagging behind him as he smelled stands and passer bys. Mother's pulled their children close as he approached, giving both Mongrel and her dirty looks as if she'd just released some horrid beast onto the streets.

She could feel the glares of the normal people, the ones who got to go home to warm beds when it got dark. Who had a good hot meal cooked over hot stoves waiting for them when they got home. The children who got to hear bedtime stories every night and got kissed goodnight and felt safe as they feel asleep, not afraid of what lurked outside in the cold nights. The normal, average citizen that the Marines would care about if something were to happen. The people that weren't Marko.

She scratched her scalp, flakes of dirt fell out of her hair. She looked around the marketplace. There were still some who didn't want to pull their stands in for the winter, who were still adamant to keep them outside for a little longer until the snow decided to remain permanently on the ground.

Their island stood out from the other islands on the grand line. It was normally a spring island, most of the time. But once in a while, once every few years, it would get really cold and snow would fall. Marko had managed to learn that it usually happened once every two to three years. She hadn't realized that herself, it had been Jones who had told her that years ago when she'd been younger before the other had disappeared. It had taken some time but eventually Marko had learned to recognize the holiday lights as a sign of time passing, now it had been three holidays since the last winter, so it was only natural that it would happen now.

Marko didn't like the cold. It made her worry about Mongrel and the other street kids she got to know over the years. She wasn't much worried about herself. The blue flames kept her alive, not necessarily warm, but definitely alive. Plus, she had Mongrel to snuggle up to. His warm fur and large body would wrap around her like a fluffy and warm blanket. They would snuggle up in some alley at night and keep each other warm.

The hardest part about winter was finding food. All the trees would die and all the crops and fruits would go away for months before growing back. The marketplace would become bare as the shopkeepers moved their merchandise and food inside to keep it warm and fresh. It was harder to steal from a shop with enclosed space than it was from an open market where she could run away quickly without someone noticing too quickly. Winter had the highest mortality rate for the street kids and Marko had seen many come and go over the years. You became numb to the loss after a while when it didn't happen to the ones you cared about, but eventually you had to learn that those might go away too. Like Jones and Stacie.

Marko coughed, more for the effect of looking weak and miserable than anything else. If they felt sorry for her they might just let her steal the food without much arguing.

It didn't take her long before she spotted the baker. The best in town, it was said. He baked the bread fresh and sometimes even on demand where you could come pick it up later. To the normal people he was a very nice man who smiled a lot and laughed with the children, sometimes even giving them a free sample. With Marko and the street kids it was different. With them he was cold and mean. He would always yell at them and call them freaks or misfits.

"Mongrel!" she hissed, waving for the dog to come back to her side. "Mongrel! Come back here."

The huge fur ball stopped, tongue out and wagging his tail. He barked happily and ran back towards her, nosing her in the face. His nose was damp and she had to wipe her cheek afterwards.

"Shh! Be quiet, he's going to notice," Marko said, ruffling his ears. She pointed towards the door of the bakery and said, "Speak."

Mongrel quickly ran over to the door, passing a woman who gasp as he passed her. She hurried away as if he was some monster, making a gesture with her hands that Marko had learned to recognize as an insult to others. Then he spoke, barking as loud as he could and jumping around to grab attention from the passer bys.

It didn't take long before the baker came out, spatula in hand and waving it around at him. "You fucking beast, you get out of here! Go! Shoo!" he yelled, as he came closer to Mongrel while the dog moved backwards away from him. Leading him away from Marko and the outside stand.

She quickly hurried over to one of the bread stands with old loafs. There was probably something wrong with them or they weren't up to his standards, that's why they were out here instead of inside the warm shop. She snatched one and held it against her chest in an attempt to hide it.

"Mongrel!" she called, ready to hurry away from there before the baker caught her.

He stopped before hurrying back towards her, large paws making thuds as he ran. As he came closer a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and shook her around.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "Let go of me!"

The baker glared down at her with fiery eyes. "You little thief! What do you think you're doing?"

"Let- let go!" Marko growled, pulling on her wrist to get out of his grip. He only tightened it and pulled her closer.

"You better pay for that, you brat, or I'm calling the marines," he said. He huffed as he kicked at Mongrel as the dog started to growl at him, getting ready to attack and defend.

"Don't hurt him, you asshole!"

Then a small thud came from next to them followed by a small clink as metal met with one of the wooden tables. The baker immediately put on a kind face, turning towards the customer. He looked at the coin on the table and beamed. "Thank you, sir, pick any loaf you'd like! We have freshly made ones inside-"

"It's not for me," a loud voice boomed, almost echoing.

Marko's eyes widened as she noticed the large shadow that had been cast over them and had to look up to see the face of whoever had spoken. She gasped as she saw the huge man smile down at them. He was almost the size of some of the larger buildings at the market. Never had she seen a man that big before! She could barely see his neck from down where she stood.

"It's for the kid," the man explained.

"Are you sure, sir?" the baker said, raising an eyebrow. "She's a regular thief here, you don't have to bother. I'll just call the marines on her."

"No need to do that. It's for the kid," he said, nodding.

"Whatever you say, pal," the baker huffed letting go of her arm as if it was poisonous. He snatched the small coin like a greedy weasel, eyes glaring at Marko as he walked back inside the bakery. Marko could still see him glance back at her from the open door in the side of the building. When he turned away, Marko gave him the finger.

The gigantic man laughed at the gesture and crouched down to her level with a smile. He still towered over her. "That's not very nice," he chuckled.

"He's not very nice. I'm starving, yoi," she snapped.

She hugged the loaf closer to her chest as if she was cradling a child or an important treasure. To her, it was the greatest treasure of them all: food. Since he'd paid for it, it was technically his and she wasn't willing to give the loaf up.

Mongrel growled beside her, baring his teeth and turning his attention on the giant stranger. He wasn't the smartest dog, seeing as the giant man could crush the large dog with his hand if he wanted.

The stranger turned towards Mongrel, still with a smile and held out his hand towards him. He cupped it into a fist with one finger stretched out towards him to sniff. Mongrel hesitated as he nosed closer and closer to the finger, carefully sniffing it. At first he seemed unsure about the giant man, but stood straight as he continued to sniff the man's hand before looking back at Marko with his tongue out, tail flapping behind him as if he'd decided that the man wasn't all that bad.

Marko pouted. "Traitor."

The giant laughed and patted the white fluff that was Mongrels head while the dog seemed to have no problem leaning up into the finger. He seemed to have definitely decided that the stranger was his new friend.

"I didn't need your help, yoi," Marko huffed, glaring at her traitorous dog. Normally she trusted in Mongrels ability to detect an asshole or a nice person, but she didn't like this stranger. She definitely didn't like it when strangers assumed she needed help just because she had to steal to eat. "I can take care of myself, yoi."

"Is that a speech tic?" the man asked, completely ignoring what else she'd said.

Marko held up a hand over her mouth, blushing at having it pointed out to her. She couldn't help it, it came naturally to her. "No! It's voluntary!"

He chuckled again, rubbing her messy curls with his finger. Kind of like a normal sized human would do with their hand while ruffling someone's hair. "What's your name, son?"

_Son? _she blinked. He thought she was a boy? She looked down on herself, seeing her baggy and oversized shirt and the pants that she'd tied up the legs and midriff with rope so she wouldn't trip over them. She didn't look very feminine, true, but she'd stopped pretending to be a boy long ago when it had come out that she was a girl. It hadn't done much for her anyway.

"I'm-" she stopped, pulling her lips into a thin line. "Why do you want to know? You don't tell strangers your name!"

"I'm Edward Newgate," the giant said, holding out his finger for her to shake. She just glared at it. "What's your name?"

She huffed, not accepting his hand- or finger. "Marko." Then she crossed her arms as best she could. "And not a boy."

Newgate blinked, looking her over. It making her uncomfortable. "Marko, that's an odd name for a girl."

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No, no, absolutely not," Newgate chuckled, holding his hands up in defense. "What are you doing stealing? Shouldn't you be home with your parents?"

"I don't have parents, yoi…" she muttered. "Never had parents."

She wasn't sad about it. She was glad she didn't have parents. She heard stories about rules and regulations and what you couldn't do and that you had to go to something called a school and stay there all day and you had to listen and couldn't do whatever you wanted. Why would she want to do any of that when she could do whatever she wanted on the streets without having to worry about someone yelling at her for not listening? Of course, it would be nice to have a warm bed to come back to, but she didn't need someone to tell her what she could and couldn't do.

"I don't want parents, yoi," she said, pushing her nose into the air. "They just yell at you and force you to do things you don't want to do."

Newgate nodded as if he agreed with her. "I didn't have parents either, so I wouldn't know. But I know that it's nice to have people who care about you."

"I have people who care about me, yoi!" she argued. "I have Mongrel! And Jones and Stacie!" She became quiet and looked down on the ground. "I haven't seen them in a while… but I know they cared, yoi!"

"Are they your foster parents?" Newgate asked.

"No… they're- thirteen and six…" Marko mumbled. "But they cared!"

She was worried that something had happened to them. They had disappeared and Marko had no idea where they went, but she knew that she was probably never going to see them again. When kids went missing off of the streets, especially street rats like them, no one would bother looking. They rarely ever came back.

"You're hungry, how about I buy something real to eat?" Newgate proposed.

"I don't need you help, yoi," Marko said again. This was usually the moment that her stomach would grumble had her powers not kept it silent, but she did make a grimace at the pang of hunger that hit her at the thought of actual food. A plate full of whatever she wanted to eat instead of a loaf of measly bread definitely didn't sound very bad. She looked at Mongrel who was looking at her face with his tongue out and wagging his tail at her as if he was begging her to accept the offer. "Can Mongrel eat too?"

She knew he was real skinny underneath all that fur. She would often give him her bread because she could survive months without collapsing from the pain. She would lay there without any energy to move, but she wouldn't die from it. She'd learned that when she was very little and had gone months, sometimes it would feel like years, without eating anything.

"Of course, a good companion needs a good meal too," Newgate said with a grin, standing up straight and once again, Marko felt absolutely miniscule. Then he leaned his head to the side before asking, "Do you want to ride on my shoulder?"

She stared up at the man's shoulder and she did find herself wanting to know what the view from up there would be like. She wondered if she would be able to see the ocean from there. Maybe she would even see as far as to the next island from up on his shoulder!

"No, I can walk, yoi," she said. She needed to be able to run away fast if something happened. She couldn't trust this man just because he paid for her bread and offered her food.

Mongrel smiled as best at her as a dog could. She glared at him before she patted him on the back. He crouched down close to the ground and she swung a leg over his back. She gently grabbed his fur to hold onto as he hurried after Newgate. He glanced down at them with a raised eyebrow but she ignored him.

* * *

**/Co-posted on Archiveofourown under the same name**


	2. Food! It's like heaven in your mouth

"What do you like to eat?" Newgate asked as they walked down the market. His voice sounded far away from his enormous height and had to look back to be able to look up at him.

Mongrel was running up ahead, which made it easier for her to see his face. She wondered if it was difficult to talk to people when you were that tall. If people thought it was insulting when you had to crouch down to properly talk to them? Or if people simply ran away because they were scared.

"Bread?" Marko said with a shrug.

The market was slowly replaced by taller buildings, buildings that might be able to accommodate someone at least half of Newgates size. Tall people weren't uncommon around these seas. Marko had seen a lot of people that she had often mistaken for a giant because they were so tall. None of Newgate's size, though. He was a first for her.

She wondered if maybe he had to sit outside of the restaurants when eating someplace because he wouldn't fit through the door. Or if he had to make his own clothes because he couldn't find any his size. Maybe his clothes were made out of sails from old shipwrecks. The vest he was wearing had a few rips and tears at the edges.

"Do you like meat? Chicken; beef; stake?" he asked. He adjusted his grip on the bag he had slung over his shoulder a bit.

"I don't know, yoi," she admitted.

She had never eaten chicken, or beef, or stake. She hadn't even eaten fish before, despite the fact that they lived in the grand line and fish was plenty a penny. It was also hard to get a hold of, or at least that's what Marko had heard whenever she went close to the port or talked with one of the few nice fisherman that would come round the island once in a while. According to them fishing was a hard and dangerous job that required skills that Marko didn't even know existed. Most of the time she just assumed they were cheap and didn't want to share because she didn't have any money.

"Fish?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She shook her head, hair flying everywhere as she did. "Hm, well that's not right."

"What's not right?"

"Have you eaten anything other than bread before?"

"Fruit. I think I ate a potato once, yoi."

Fruits and vegetables were a lot easier to get ahold of. You just had to learn to recognize when the crops were ready and when the farmers would be out guarding them. Also not to take too much at a time, if you did you might not be able to go back to the same farm a second time.

Newgate hummed, scratching his chin. He looked around the plaza they had found themselves in and muttered to himself. Marko couldn't hear what he was saying but she did follow his eyes with her own. They looked from one restaurant to another and to another, each building taller and bigger than the other.

Then he smiled, patting his thigh and said, "Come."

Mongrel follow after him happily, tail wagging behind him sending thick tufts of fur flying through the air.

They walked towards one of the taller buildings with red patio covers on both sides of what looked like the entrance. There were chairs and tables behind black fencing and bushes. On the windows were a symbol that looked like a stake holding a fork and smiling happily at the people passing by.

"How do you get inside?" Marko asked, the door was just about half of Newgate's height. Even if he tried he wouldn't be getting inside, his shoulders were too big. "You're too big for the front door."

"We'll just sit outside," he answered, not bothered by her question at all. Maybe he got them often? "Or do you want to sit inside?"

"No," Marko said, shaking her head. She didn't want to go inside alone, people would look at her funny and talk about her as if she wasn't there. It always made her feel bad.

Newgate knocked on the door carefully. Though, it was more similar to a tap with his finger. The windows rattled from the force, like a tiny earthquake on the glass.

There was rustling inside, some of the patrons close to the window peeked through the windows to see what was going on while waiters hurried around inside. Marko straightened her back to better be able to see what was going on inside while Newgate knocked again when nobody came to the door. She saw a waitress hesitantly edge closer to the door, before turning to talk to someone she couldn't see.

Eventually the waitress came peeking outside, eyes big and a bit frightened. She swallowed, looking from Marko to Newgate. Marko could see her fidget as she looked up at the large man.

"Uhm, can I h-help you, sir?" she asked, not leaving the door. She seemed to be using it as a shield.

"We'd like to order."

There was a short pause where the waitress seemed to think about what she was going to say. She bit her lip and opened her mouth to say something multiple times but no words came. Then she took a hesitant step backwards and smiled awkwardly.

"I… I need to talk to the m-manager first," she yelped, before shutting the door and hurrying inside.

"Maybe we should go someplace else," Marko muttered, scratching her arm.

Marko didn't like the plaza. Every time she came here people would avoid her or point at her as if she couldn't see them. She heard rude whispers and crude words being said as if she was deaf and not homeless. Everyone here always treated people lesser. Jones had said once that the plaza was cursed and that everyone who went there was two faced and rotten.

They should just leave, she thought. They didn't want to serve them. That waitress had taken one look at Marko and had refused them on the spot.

"No, this place will do."

A couple of minutes went by before a man stepped out of the door. He held himself high with a purple semi fancy shirt on under a gold shining vest. He had a funny mustache and dark blue hair.

"You must be Mister Edward, yes, yes," the man said, nodding. His shoulders were tense and he stood stiff like a board. "Unfortunately, our establishment isn't big enough to… Accommodate someone of your… Height."

Newgate laughed. "No need to worry about that. We'll just sit outside."

"Yes, yes, of course, of course," the man Marko now guessed was the manager nodded. "Our food supply might not be… Sufficient, either.

"I'm sure you have enough for a little girl," Newgate said and looking at Marko with a smile. If she wasn't so uncomfortable she would have huffed at being called little girl.

The manager followed his direction and looked at Marko with a mix of uncertainty and disgust.

"Yes… I suppose we should," he muttered. "I'll get you two a menu to look at."

"See, no problems," Newgate said as the man hurried back inside.

"He don't want us here," she muttered, getting off of Mongrel.

She pulled on her left earlobe, feeling the melted plastic stuck in her ear pull on her cheek. It was the one place she would ever feel aching and now it ached a lot. Every time it ached Marko knew to leave. She would often describe it as being similar to a burn, even if she didn't know why or what a burn felt like.

She kept it well hidden behind her curls, always making sure that no one saw it. The adults that had seen it had gasped in fear or horror and had pretended that she was never there to begin with. When she had shown it to Jones, the older teen had told her to never show the small tag to anyone. Bad things would happen if she did.

"If you walk away from everyone who don't like you, you'll end up with very few places to go," Newgate said.

He moved a few chairs and tables out of the way and sat down. Then he put a table and chair down next to him and tapped it with his finger for Marko to join him.

She did, though a bit hesitant. The ache in her earlobe told her to leave, but the promise of food was too appealing. She had never had a real meal from a restaurant. The temptation was too strong.

She hopped up on the chair and drummed her fingers on the table as they waited for the manager to come back with their menus.

"But what if he don't come back?" Marko asked.

"I'll just have to knock again."

"But if he doesn't want to give us food-"

"You worry to much for someone so small," Newgate interrupted. He ruffled her hair with his finger again and Marko swatted at his hand.

She ducked her head down and pouted. "Stop doing that!"

Newgate laughed.

Eventually the manager came back with two menus, one average sized and one almost half as big as the manager. He placed the small one in front of Marko while he held the bigger one up for Newgate. Then he disappeared back inside with a fake smile and a quick, "Mister Newgate."

Marko glanced after him and then down on the menu. It was a maroon red with a shiny plastic over the text. It was heavier than she thought it would be when she picked it up and the text was small. To her horror there were no pictures.

"Why did that man know your name?" Marko asked as she pretended to read the menu. It was just a bunch of small text that she couldn't read. Mongrel was sitting next to her, tail thumping into the ground loudly.

"Guess I have a known face," Newgate chuckled. Marko frowned. "I've had a few run ins with the Marines is all. Nothing you need to worry yourself with."

She narrowed her eyes, but felt her stomach grumble silently.

"Anything that sounds tasty?" Newgate asked.

"Uhm… I want what tastes good, yoi?" It came out sounding more like a question instead of a decision. "I've never eaten any of this before, yoi. What should I pick?"

"How about we take a little of everything and see what you like?"

Marko shut the menu with a smack and nodded. A little of everything meant a lot of food.

* * *

Marko stared wide eyed at the table, the many plates sending scents and smells she had never even known existed through her nose. Her mouth watered and she wanted to eat all of it at once.

She reached out for a large piece of chicken wing and bit into it. The taste was even better than the smell, it was like eating pure heaven. She didn't know how else to explain it. It was like nothing she had ever eaten before.

Tears burned in her eyes as she took another bite and then another, stuffing her face full. It was so good!

Newgate laughed. "Is it good?"

"Absolutely good!" Marko sobbed happily.

Most of the meal went without conversation. Marko was too busy eating and tasting all the new dishes to bother with talking and Newgate didn't seem to care much about it. He sat there smiling and occasionally laughed at her expressions at some of the foods, some being better than others.

Next to the table, Mongrel was wolfing down a particularly large piece of meat with a large bone in it he could pick clean and amuse himself with later.

* * *

Newgate smiled as he watched Marko inhale the food on the table. It didn't even seem as if she disliked anything and he wondered if she even tasted what she ate as she swallowed it down. She was eating as if she'd never eaten a food before and that was sad.

Marko wasn't just short, but she was also thin. While she was clad it clothes that were way too big for her Newgate could tell from the way they hung off of her how thin she really was. Her wrists were like sticks and her cheeks were beginning to hollow. It was amazing that she even had energy to move with how frail she looked.

"You should slow down, the food isn't going anywhere," he laughed.

Mostly for humors sake, but also because if what she said was true and she was only used to eating bread and vegetables once in a while, then her stomach wouldn't be used to half of the stuff she was currently having. It might be good now but could also lead to some bad stomach aches later.

Marko only hummed something unintelligible in return. She didn't even turn to look at him, only waving a chewed up chicken bone in the air before dropping it to reach for a fruit salad.

Newgate had ordered it in hopes that she would start with the salad and then work up to the more meaty dishes. Instead Marko had reached for what had looked best and then she hadn't stopped. He wondered if she even knew what she was reaching for or if she went mostly on autopilot right now.

After wolfing down a particular large piece of meat and getting sauce all over her cheeks, Marko dried her face on her sleeve. The dirty fabric did little to remove the sauce and only smeared it around. Her hair moved and the wind caught some of the curly locks and blowing them behind her shoulders. In that moment, Newgate caught the sight of something small and plastic looking with a distinct red color.

He had seen the hint of red in her hair before. The first time when he'd rustled her hair back by the backers and a second time when she was riding on Mongrel and her hair had flown everywhere. The third had been just now when he'd ruffled her hair and had seen a rectangular red shape hidden inside the dirty curls. He didn't see exactly what it was or anything distinct about it, but it did cause him to frown.

Newgate had traveled a lot and he had been a pirate for his entire adult life. He had seen more than most men did in their entire life, both good things and bad things. There were plenty of things that he wished he didn't know about the world and how it worked. The small red plastic looking thing tangled into Marko's hair reminded him of something he didn't want to associate with someone so young.

"Marko, can I see your earing?" he asked. He didn't want to spook her or cause her to suspect anything. If it was what he thought it was, then she could just as easily run.

"Mmf whaft?" she asked, mouth full of food and the words coming out mixed and muffled.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth," Newgate scolded. Then he tapped his own ear and repeated, "Your earing. Can I see it?"

She frowned and tilted her head to the side for a moment. She shrugged and reached for another plate. "I don't have any earings, yoi. My hair is just tangled."

It had been quick but Newgate had caught it, the hint of panic in her eyes and the way her small shoulders squared as if realizing something. She had been quick to play it off, though, faster than someone her age should be. Kids her age should be terrible liars and be bad at hiding secrets. They should fidget and be uncomfortable when approached about something they didn't want anyone else to know. Marko had played it off almost as well as an adult had, as if she was so used to lying about it that it was second nature at this point.

That or she was just so engrossed in the food that she had just decided that the food took priority. Could be a mix of both.

Newgate hummed, scratching his cheek. He hoped he was wrong.


	3. The Hunt for Newgate

Garp was not in a good mood, which anyone who knew him could attest wasn't normal. At all! He'd been grumbling nonsense for almost two weeks now and the only ones who seemed to know the extent of what was really going on was Fleet-Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku. If asked, they would simply say, "That fucking family again".

The real reason Garp was in a bad mood was actually because Dragon had suddenly decided to drop off the face of the earth. With no warning whatsoever! It had left Garp in a sour mood, especially since not only had Dragon gone MIA, but Roger had apparently gone missing as well. Which was never a good thing considering the bullshit that man could get into.

Eventually Kong had gotten tired of Garp's moping and bad attitude and put him on a marine ship assigned to tail Newgate. Apparently the man had gotten into some shit again too, no surprise there, and had gotten the media into a frenzy. So Garp's mission was to go there and check up on what the hell was going on. Kong knew that bringing in Newgate wasn't going to happen, but had at least told him to make a show of it so that the public knew they were doing something about it.

They had tracked Newgate to a small island in the outskirts of the Grand Line very close to the calm belt best known for its three year summers and fishing industry. There were a lot of other more shushed rumors about the island as well. Most of them saying that they had a more nasty industry going on under the surface that everyone turned a blind eye to, but nothing that had ever been confirmed.

This island is exactly where Garp found himself now, walking along the port with hunched shoulders and a frown that could probably curdle milk. There was frost on the ground and in the shadowy areas where the sun didn't reach were small piles of snow.

The harbor while not bustling like on the bigger islands, were definitely alive and awake. Fishing boats were coming in with their catch and some were working on sorting the fish right there at the dock.

He walked up to one of the boats who were currently in the process of unloading a large catch of fish; Half of the stash where half the size of the men doing the unloading. They laughed loudly and joked as they worked, bumping each other on the shoulders and slapping their friends in the face with the fish they couldn't sell when someone was being too much of an asshole.

Garp made his way over to the crew. If Newgate had docked here then the people at the port should have noticed. The man stood out like a sore thumb on these smaller islands.

"Hey, sailor," one of the fishermen greeted when Garp approached. He had a long grey beard with silver lines in it and a wrinkled face that brought on a false impression of a brittle old man. His shoulders and thick forearms said otherwise though and spoke of years of heavy lifting.

"Yo!" Garp replied, waving a hand. "Seen a man the size of a building walking by here?"

"Not in this direction, we haven't," the sailor answered with a shrug. "I think I woulda' noticed a man the size of a house."

Garp groaned. He was actually looking forward to a fight, it meant letting go of some of the pent up frustration from the last few weeks.

"What about a crew of men half that size?"

The sailor laughed. "That's not much to go on there. Any other details?"

Garp thought for a second, trying to remember the characteristics of Newgate's crew. They did make news quite a lot and were definitely strong enough that pretty much all of them had a wanted poster. Didn't mean that Garp paid much attention to any of them. They weren't a challenge for him.

"One of them has spiky black hair and smokes a cigar," Garp remembered. He believed the guy fought with a sword but couldn't be sure.

"Gruff voice? Black moustache with a scar on his face?" a second sailor piped up from aboard the ship.

"Something like that I think," Garp shrugged.

"Saw one of them by the east side," the guy said, pointing in the direction. "Right past the Metal Castle, you can't miss it. Ask around there."

"Metal Castle?"

"Huge building of metal, looks a bit like a castle," the sailor explained with a grin as if that should be obvious.

Garp nodded and gave his thanks before heading off in the direction the man had pointed at. He passed a few other fishing boats and a few shops before the spotted a large grey building. The metal walls shimmered in the sun and two guards stood outside the door with guns in their hands. When Garp passed them they nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

There were less people around this part of the port. There were less ships docked here and the ones that were looked very familiar to Garp. He had seen similar ones at Saboady plenty of times. It made him sick to think about.

"Hey, have you seen a guy the size of a building come by here?" Garp asked one of the guards.

The man straightened his back and held his gun higher as if to seem more professional. Garp really couldn't care less about this guy's posture.

"Yes, sir!" the guard answered, loud and clear as if they were surrounded by loud noise. The only noise around here were faint screams from inside the building behind the two and from the occasional worker that walked by.

"Oh! Really?" Garp asked. Finally some good news.

"Tall man, brown vest with long blonde hair, sir!" the guard clarified. "He headed in the direction of the marketplace, sir!"

"That's Newgate! Thank you!" Garp grinned, heading off.

"Sir!"

"Huh?"

"The marketplace is that way, sir!"

"Oh, thank you."

* * *

Garp looked down on his wrist where the small den den mushi was beeping. It had been doing so repeatedly for at least ten minutes now, but he'd elected to ignore it in favor of finding Newgate instead. The baker he'd talked to had helped a lot in giving him a well detailed description of his encounter with the man and in which direction he'd gone. He'd even told him about parts of a conversation he'd heard Newgate have with a young girl the baker had caught stealing from his stand. He'd also gotten a good description of the girl and her dog.

With a loud groan, he held his wrist up closer to his face and opened the shell. He picked his nose as he said a quick, "Huh?" to announce he was listening. The snail clicked and stared at him for only two seconds before it decided to start screaming.

"Garp! Answer the damn den den mushi!" was the first thing that came out of the small but loud thing. The snail glared at him almost as pissed off as Sengoku, which made Garp laugh.

"Yes, yes, I was busy," Garp defended.

"We've got new intel on Newgate. He's been spotted at a restaurant in the middle of the town at a place called Meaty Might's Steakhouse."

"Sounds tasty," he said, already feeling it watering in his mouth.

"Focus!" the snail barked with glaring eyes. "They say he's there with a child."

"Must be the brat the baker talked about."

"Who- doesn't matter. Whatever you do, do not harm the child, you hear? It's possible the kid's being held hostage so we won't attack."

Garp had to raise an eyebrow at that and scoff. Newgate taking a hostage and a child one at that? Bullshit. If anything he was probably working on the adoption papers as they spoke. But it was still a child and damn if he was going to let Newgate corrupt a small child to the wrong path.

"Alright," Garp said to acknowledge that he'd what the man had said before closing the lid on the small snail.

Meaty Might's Steakhouse. Sounded like a good place to start with; And if Newgate wasn't there then he could just get a quick snack before continuing his search. He'd never been one to say no to a nicely cooked piece of steak.

* * *

Newgate, as always, stood out like a sore thumb in a town of this size. Garp could see him long before he even neared the town square. The man's height and long blonde hair was a dead giveaway in these parts of the Grand Line.

He didn't see her at first, but with a quick glance to the side Garp spotted the blonde mess of hair moving about above a large stack of food. The were empty plates beside the table of the ground right next to a dog properly just as tall as the girl. As he had suspected, she didn't seem very terrified or in any danger.

He grinned, punching his palm in anticipation. At least with Newgate he would be given a proper fight.

He walked over to the restaurant the man was sitting outside of with his hands on his hips.

"So this is where you've been hiding, Newgate," Garp said.


End file.
